Ishola Michael
National Population Commission (NPC) has lamented that the misuse of social media has negatively impacted the smooth flow of vital information dissemination as fake news and inaccurate information have become the order of the day.
The Federal Commissioner made the assertion, Bauchi State, Ibrahim Muhammad Darazo, while declaring open a one-day capacity building workshop for Journalists in Bauchi state on effective reporting of the 2023 population and housing census held at the NUJ Press Center on Thursday.
He explained that the capacity building workshop became necessary to bring Journalists up to date on how to accurately report the census exercise with minimal information problems.
Ibrahim Muhammad Darazo also advised Journalists who will be on the field to ensure factual and unbiased information dissemination and reportage to refute myriad of fake news about Nigeria’s population demographics.
He also stressed that accurate and factual coverage of the 2023 housing and population census will make the outcome of the exercise credible and acceptable to all.
The Federal Commissioner further said that the overall success of the exercise hinges on the flow of accurate and factual information to members of the public which can only be achieved through the various media organisations in the state.
He opined thar Journalists are the best and most accurate channel of destination of information, thus making them critical stakeholders for the 2023 housing and population census success.
According to him, “with the current prevalence of misinformation and fake news about Nigeria’s demographics for political and often sentiments, it is a national calling for Journalists to fact check and refute such unverified information in circulation.”
He then called on Journalists to be professional and unbiased in the coverage of the census stressing that postulations of figures will marr the best outcome of the exercise.
Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bauchi State Council, Comrade Umar Sa’idu explained that the training was the first of its kind in the history of the Council, hence the need for participants to apply the knowledge and skills gained to proper use.
Umar Sa’idu also said that the training is critical for effective media coverage of the 2023 census and pledged to continue Organizing such trainings to improve the capacity of journalists to contribute to national development.
In a brief remark, Chairman of Elders Committee of NUJ, Ibrahim Idris Shall commended the leadership of the NUJ for collaborating with NPC to put together the training which he described as timely and appropriate.
He charged the participants to assimilate the training and put it to practice while on the field during the census exercise in March.
Though census exercise was designed to be conducted every 10 years, the last housing and population census in Nigeria was conducted about 16 years ago a development that has not given the country an accurate population figure.
A total of 30 working journalists from all the media organisations in the state including the Correspondents Chapel attended the one day workshop.
